The 59th Annual Lū`au is Here!

Students performing a "hula dance" routine.

This year, Pacific Univeristy’s Nā Haumāna O Hawai'i (NHOH; the Hawaii Club) is going to be putting on the 59th Annual Lū`au on April 13<sup>th</sup>! NHOH, founded back in 1959, has drastically grown and has become a staple at Pacific University Oregon. Every year in the spring, our basketball gym goes through a major transformation. The campus is taken over by the hundreds of family members of the Hawaii students who fly in to volunteer the whole week leading up to the Lū`au. This is truly what makes the event so special. Some are cooking food, some are making decorations, some are setting up the gift stores, and all are happy and excited to be here. The ties to family, reverence to culture, and willingness to share with an outside community of people is the driving force for the popularity, support, and overall success of the Lū`au year in and year out. The Lū`au is filled with beautiful classic and modern dances and performances that are led, choreographed, and performed by students. The music is always run by a band of students who write, orchestrate, and play throughout the event. This event is not exclusive, in fact, there is always a place for not only students from Hawaii, but also students from the mainland. With the Lū`au being the biggest non-sports related event on-campus, it is always heavily anticipated by the entire Pacific University community whether they are participating in the Lū`au or just watching. Traditionally, tickets for the show will sell out in less than a week. This is crazy once one realizes that the basketball gym, where the Lū`au takes place, consists of two large bleachers and six sections of seating on the floor around the stage. The Lū`au is so popular and anticipated that we even sell out the tickets to the dress rehearsal the evening before the actual show! Another great part about the Lū`au is the traditional Hawaiian food that is served. People have the option to buy a ticket that covers just the show, or dinner and the show. All of the traditional fan favorites are served at the Lū`au: plenty of white rice, mac salad, laulau, poi, poke, katsu chicken, and best of all, kalua pork. The week prior, some of the volunteer parents are digging an imu near our sand volleyball court. An imu is a Hawaiian underground oven or a cooking pit. The volunteers literally stay up all night in a tent, cooking whole pigs in the imu. There is plenty of absolutely delicious food every single year. Even though it seems like the Lū`au all takes place in one busy week, there are months and months of planning that go into this event. The parent volunteers, student performers and instructors, the talented musicians, and dedicated overall coordinators put in hours and hours of blood, sweat, and tears to bring a little bit of Hawaii to Forest Grove every single spring. Come to Pacific University and experience our amazing Lū`au!

Student performing a "fire knife" routine.

Repeated National Champion Handball Team

2018-19 handball team at the United States Handball Association National Collegiate Championships

Here at Pacific University, we have many things we can be proud of. One of the more random, yet awesome accomplishments we proudly claim is our amazing handball team! Men’s and women’s handball is a club team sport that has stood the test of time here at Pacific University, and across the nation. Starting back in 1977, the team has been a dominant force in the world of collegiate handball.  In the last 39 years, the handball team has not missed the national tournament, and has collected a total of 36 national championship titles. In late February of this year, Pacific’s handball team flew out to Minnesota to defend their national title for the 3^rd year in a row. On this trip they were able to clean shop and collectively win their 4^th consecutive national championship with 4 individual and doubles titles. Even the coaches are getting awards here at Pacific! Our head handball coach, David Steinberg, was named the College Coach of the Year for 2019 by other coaches around the nation.  An interesting aspect of the team is that most of our athletes are not lifelong handball players or veterans to the sport. Actually, many, including three individuals who won national titles this year, have played handball for as little as two months. Often students who play fall sports here at Pacific, were good high school athletes that did not initially want to play a sport in college, or are just people who want to try something different are the students you see suiting up in red and black for the Pacific University handball team. There are several players on the team who are going to be returning next year, and the University is excited to add more championships to the long list of national titles. The team is always growing, evolving, and chasing greatness!

Scholarship Opportunities for Incoming Students

Pacific University offers several different scholarships for our incoming students. The opportunity of a merit scholarship is available to all students who apply and is based off of the work students have already done in high school. The only requirements to keeping the scholarship are staying in good academic standing while at Pacific University. We also offer Talent Awards & Scholarships, Special Interest Scholarships, and Community-Based Scholarships.

In total, there are 26 potential scholarships that incoming students can apply to. There are 13 total Talent Awards & Scholarships: Dance Scholarship, World Languages Talent Award, etc. There are 7 Special Interest Scholarships to pick from: Outdoor Adventure Award, FIRST Robotics Scholarship, etc. There are 6 Community-Based Scholarships available for incoming students: Black United Fund of Oregon ACCESS Scholarship, Pacific University Oregon Promise Award, etc.

These scholarships are not run by the admissions office like the merit scholarships. Rather, they are run by the individual departments and organizations on campus. Because of this, the departments and organizations are in charge of the requirements of their scholarships. Students may apply to as many scholarships as they wish, but they may only accept one. The scholarships range from $500 - $6,000, and are renewable every year as long as the student fulfills the requirements. 

Check out the list of scholarships for incoming students that we offer and see if anything applies to you!

Jan Term

     At Pacific University we offer “Jan Term” classes during our winter break in the month of January.  The classes last for 11 instructional days and are three hours long. Jan term classes are usually 2 credit courses so that the workload is manageable. Students have the opportunity to move back on campus and utilize their meal plans during this time period. Registration for these Jan term classes occurs when students register for their spring semester classes. In terms of the classes, many disciplines are usually represented during Jan term.  As for the cost, Jan term is something that is already included into the price of tuition so there is no extra charge. Even more reason for students to take advantage of this time.

     Often, students will take a class that may be difficult for them if they were to take it for an entire semester. For example, social science majors (psychology, sociology, ect.) sometimes take a hard-science class during the winter break in order to meet their requirement, and hard science majors (chemistry, biology, etc.) may try and fulfill their art or social science/humanities requirement during this time.

     Although every year is different, usually a third to half of our students take advantage of our Jan term courses. Many students love this because our already small community is much more tight knit and connected during these three weeks.

     Jan term is also when a lot of our travel courses take place. Travel course are mini study abroad programs that we offer. Students can get their civic engagement requirements met in Trinidad and Tobago, have their science requirement met by taking a marine biology course in the Galapagos Islands, etc... These are also worth two credits and are a fun way to pursue your degree! Be aware that the travel courses are “out of pocket” trips unlike the on-campus Jan term courses and other study abroad trips.

Centers and Institutions

At Pacific University, students have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of clubs and groups. One distinction that we make from our general clubs are our Centers and Institutions that we have on campus. Most of the centers and institutions are ran by students who are accompanied by a staff member. This provides leadership opportunities for our students, and also allows them the freedom to focus on what is important to them. This is just a small example, check out the rest on our website!

·         Berglund Center

o   The Berglund Center is focused on serving all students at all degree levels from any major who wish to innovate. Students are helped with innovative thinking, entrepreneurship and multidisciplinary team work. Student can win fellowships, awards, and practical experience for launching startup businesses through the Inspired Ideas Competition. Students have the opportunity to share their ideas in front of a panel of judges and the public. The completion is judged on merit rather than financial or business potential in order to give every student a fair opportunity. With mentors there to support, the Berglund Center can be a very useful tool for any students with an entrepreneur mindset.

·         Center for Civic Engagement

o   All students at Pacific University have a Civic Engagement requirement which is our way of getting Pacific students out into the community, serving the common good, and engaging with the community. This is experiential learning put into practice. The requirement can be met through one of the many Civic Engagement classes that are offered every semester or if you choose to do something alone, the project/internship must be approved by the Center for Civic Engagement. In the past we have had students serve at the local farms, put on well-organized fundraisers for various charities, and do internships at places like local schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. The Center for Civic Engagement also hosts travel courses for student who wish to make a difference overseas. Student can choose from trips such as Hawaii, Ecuador, Kenya, etc. The Center for Civic Engagement does all that it can in order to make sure students are serving the community in unique and meaningful ways.

·         Center for Gender Equity

o   The Center for Gender Equity host several workshops throughout the year for various things such as mental health, LGBTQ Week, slam poetry events, panels, speakers, short films, etc. The goal is to make people aware of issue surrounding gender in an open and inviting way. They offer scholarships, research opportunities, and conferences for Pacific Students as well. 

Outdoor Pursuits and Voyages!

The state of Oregon has so much to offer, especially when you take a step out of your front door. With Henry Hagg Lake 15 minutes, Mount Hood and the coast an hour away, hundreds of hiking trails with amazing views and waterfalls, and plenty of other easily accessible attractions, Pacific University is in the perfect central place for students who want to get outside and connect with nature! For this very reason, Pacific has an outdoors club called Outdoor Pursuits. The sole mission of the club is to provide students with opportunities, skills, and experience in the great outdoors. The club is catered to students with any level of experience all the way from, “I essentially am a tree” to “I will scream if I see a ladybug in my room”. Throughout the school year Outdoor Pursuits offers trips for students that are discounted to an extremely affordable level. For example, it can cost $80 to rent a stand up paddle board through a regular company, but only $35 for students with Outdoor Pursuits. The club aims to make all the prices low so there is no excuse for not trying new things. On top of the trips that are available to all students, the club offers Freshman Voyages. These trips are offered to freshman before orientation in the fall. Students have the opportunity to do fun things such as surfing, rock climbing, white water rafting, etc. we trained older students and faculty for about a week. Voyages are chance to walk into freshman orientation with a small community that you have already formed. Often students make friends that last their entire college career on their Voyage trip which is amazing to hear! When we have students who are extremely passionate about being in nature, we point them to our Outdoor Leadership Minor. We are one of the few schools in the country that offer this as a minor and employers love it. When an employer sees 100 applications, this minor really stands out and shows that you have leadership skills in extreme situations/environments and they want to know more about it. Student are able to lead classes, learn about safety, learn about guiding, and learn a lot about themselves as leaders and people. It is a new program but the reviews have been amazing!

Meet Tailor Dolgin, a recently graduated senior (English Lit Major, Outdoor Leadership Minor) who found her new home in Outdoor Pursuits!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZR78zBECRw

If you have any other questions and want to check out all that Outdoor Pursuits has to offer, click here.

Part 2: Top 10 Reasons to Become a Boxer!

A continuation from last week’s post, there are an unlimited number of great things that can be said about Pacific University. We decided to shorten that list and give you the Top 10 Reasons to Become a Boxer!

6.       Study Abroad and Travel Courses – Pacific University has 26 different study abroad programs in 13 different countries that all students have a chance to participate in. Studying abroad is an opportunity for students to not only earn Pacific credits, but to explore the world and experience something different! Students are able to apply the same financial aid they receive at Pacific University to the foreign university they attend in our programs. If a whole semester or school year is not something a student wants or is able to do, then we also offer three-week travel courses during winter term or early summer (7 courses offered in the 2018-19 school year). These are out of pocket trips that are paired up with a course in the fall or spring semester. We encourage all students to ask their advisers about study abroad programs in order to figure out how their schedules will need to be structured.

7.       Civic Engagement Opportunities – A requirement for all students, civic engagement is a way we get our students out into the community serving in many different ways! The students have the option when and how they choose to meet this requirement which makes the process more enjoyable and authentic. There are classes geared toward civic engagement projects that revolve around specific majors. A psychology student will have may options that revolve around mental health within the community, while an environment science student may have an opportunity to volunteer at the B-Street Farm. There are also general classes for civic engagement with themes for students who have not chosen their major yet. No matter how it gets done, its sole purpose is to get students off campus, into the community, and making a difference.

8.       70+ Clubs and Activities – There is no shortage of clubs to choose from as Pacific has over 70 clubs and organizations on campus. The clubs fall under many categories such as academic, educational, Greek life, cultural, religious, public service, recreational, performing arts, and student media. We highly encourage our student to join multiple clubs. It is a great way for all students to make new connections with like-minded students, take up potential leadership positions, and get involved on campus and in the community. Most Pacific University students are involved with three or four different clubs or organizations throughout their career as a student. If students are unable to find a club that fits their desire, we highly encourage starting a new club! All students need to start their own club is seven members and a staff or faculty member as their adviser. After turning in some paperwork, they are now a funded club of Pacific University.

9.       24 Varsity Sports – Pacific University is an NCAA Division III school. We compete with 24 teams in the Northwest Conference. Pacific is equipped with a new state-of-the-art 9-lane Atlas track (one of two in all the Northwest), new football/soccer/lacrosse field with a video jumbo Tron, a turf baseball field, top ranked softball field (between DII and DIII schools), an indoor turf field with indoor batting cages, three indoor and three outdoor tennis courts, an athlete weight room, fully functional locker rooms, and top notch athletic training facilities. We have coaches from all over the country with amazing histories both as athletes themselves and coaches who love being at Pacific University. Our teams have reeled in 12 championships in the last decade.

10.   Scholarships!! – Here at Pacific University, we want our students to focus on school and enjoying their experience as much as possible. Unfortunately, college finances stress students out around the country. We do all that we can to chip away at the cost of your education through many routes of generous scholarships. 90% of Pacific University students do not pay the full cost of tuition and we are proud of that number! The merit scholarships are our most basic form of scholarship. Based on GPA and test scores (ACT/SAT) students will receive a renewable scholarship: University ($12,000 per year), Trustee ($15,000 per year), Presidential ($18,000 per year), Honors ($21,000 per year), Founders ($24,000 per year). We offer Special Interest Awards ranging from $500 - $6,000 per year based on particular talents incoming students may have. Student who are interested in things such as art, math, dance, music, photography, debate, etc. have the chance to apply for a scholarship. Small requirements are paired with these awards, only one of which requires students to minor, making these even more doable. On top of all that, we host Senior Preview Scholarship Days in the fall where just by attending students receive $1,000 per year. Students arrive with their families in the morning, eat breakfast with students listen to a few speakers, a student panel, professor panel, tour the campus, and have a chance to sit in on a class. It’s a great way to get familiar with the school and earn money while you are doing it!